Public Education Council

The Public Education Council improves the quality of resources the Foundation provides. The Council serves to develop, review and oversee the educational materials and programs the Foundation provides.

Free Patient Education Materials

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Winter UHe Highlights

Bedwetting is a common problem, and it often goes away as a child gets older. But if the problem persists, parents should not ignore it. Two common bladder problems in children are nighttime bedwetting and daytime wetting, or incontinence.

Lifestyle Tips For Good Urologic Health

You can get on track for good urologic health with better eating habits and small changes to your lifestyle. Read our Living Healthy section to find healthy recipes and fitness tips to manage and prevent urologic conditions.

The word renal means kidney. The words “tumor” and “mass” mean abnormal growths in the body. A renal mass, or tumor, is an abnormal growth in the kidney. Some renal masses are benign (not cancerous) and some are malignant (cancerous). …more

Cancer of the penis is rare in the United States. But, if you are at risk, finding it early is critical. The information here should help you spot this tumor long before it becomes life-threatening.…more

A UTI is when bacteria get into your urine and travel up to your bladder. As many as 8% of girls and 2% of boys will get UTIs. Young children have a greater risk of kidney damage linked to UTI than older children or adults.…more

Bladder control depends on muscles working together when the bladder is filling. The bladder muscle should be relaxed and the muscles around the urethra (the tube that urine passes through), called the pelvic floor muscles, should be tight.…more

If you wake up more than one time each night to go to the bathroom, you may have nocturia. Sleep disruption from having to urinate during the night can impact your quality of life. About 1 in 3 adults over the age of 30 experience nocturia. …more

During routine visits to your health care provider, you are often asked to give a urine sample for testing. Many tests are routinely performed on it, like checking for sugar (diabetes), bacteria (infection) and blood. Blood in the urine that you do not see is called “microscopic hematuria.”…more

The urethra’s main job in males and females is to pass urine outside the body. This thin tube also has an important role in ejaculation for men. When a scar from swelling, injury or infection blocks or slows the flow of urine in this tube, it is called a urethral stricture. Some people feel pain with a urethral stricture.…more

Paruresis, often called “shy bladder” syndrome, is when you have trouble urinating when other people are around. Depending on how bad it is, some people are not able to void without some or total privacy.…more

Urinary diversion is when the normal structures are bypassed and an opening is made in the urinary system to bring the urine out another way. This might need to be done if your bladder stops working the right way or had to be removed because of cancer or an injury.…more

A bladder fistula is when an opening forms between the bladder and some other organ or the skin. Most often the bladder opens to the bowel ("enterovesical fistula") or the vagina ("vesicovaginal fistula").…more

The bladder isn’t injured often. The bones in the pelvis protect it from most outside forces. But the bladder can be injured by blows or piercing objects. Most often these are related to pelvic fracture. Timely evaluation and proper management are critical for the best outcomes.…more

Urethral diverticulum (UD) is a pocket or pouch that forms along the urethra. Because of its location, it can be filled with urine and lead to infections. It is can cause: a painful vaginal mass, ongoing pelvic pain, and many urinary tract infections (UTIs).…more

Bladder augmentation is an operation performed to increase the size of the bladder. This type of surgery is for patients whose bladder is not large enough to hold the usual amount of urine made by the kidneys. In some patients, the urine may leak from the bladder, causing wetting (incontinence).…more

Urine contains many dissolved minerals and salts. When urine has high levels of minerals and salts, it can help to form stones. Kidney stones can start small but can grow larger in size, even filling the inner hollow structures of the kidney. Some stones stay in the kidney, and do not cause any problems. Sometimes, the kidney stone can travel down the ureter, the tube between the kidney and the bladder.…more

Pyelonephritis is a type of urinary tract infection where one or both kidneys become infected. They can be infected by bacteria or a virus. It can cause people to feel very sick and it requires treatment.…more

An abscess is a localized collection of pus in a hollow area formed by the breaking up of tissues. A renal abscess is one that is confined to the kidney and is caused either by bacteria from an infection traveling to the kidneys through the bloodstream or by a urinary tract infection traveling to the kidney and then spreading to the kidney tissue.…more

Sometimes kidneys are no longer able to filter and clean blood. This can cause unsafe levels of waste products to build up. This is known as kidney (or renal) failure. Unless it is treated, this can cause death.…more

Your kidneys are generally well protected by muscles of the back and rib cage but injuries can occur as a result of blunt or penetrating trauma. The kidney is the most common organ in the urinary tract to be injured by severe trauma. "Trauma" is injury caused by an external force that may be either blunt—such as a car accident—or penetrating—such as a gunshot wound.…more

Testicular Torsion is when tissues around the testicle (also known as the “testis”) are not attached well. This can cause the testes to twist around the spermatic chord. When this happens, it cuts off the blood flow to the testicle. It can cause pain and swelling, and should be treated as an emergency.…more

A varicocele is when veins become enlarged inside your scrotum (the pouch of skin that holds your testicles). These veins are called the pampiniform plexus. Ten to 15 of every 100 males have a varicocele. It is like getting a varicose vein in your leg.…more

Spermatoceles are also known as spermatic cysts. They are fluid-filled masses, often painless, and they grow near the testicles. They tend to be benign (not cancerous). These cysts are found near the top and behind the testicle, but are separate from the testicle. The cysts can be smooth, filled with a whitish, cloudy fluid, and most often hold sperm. Their size can vary. If their size becomes a bother or causes pain, then there are some ways to fix the problem.…more

While benign (non-cancerous) tumors in the adrenal gland are very common, cancers in or around this gland are very rare. They are found in only 1 or 3 per 1 million people. These tumors can give off too much cortisol or other hormones.…more

Most of us are born with 2 ureters, the tube that drains the urine from each kidney into the bladder. But some babies are born with 2 ureters that drain a single kidney. In these cases, one ureter drains the upper part of the kidney and the second ureter drains the lower part of the kidney. As long as they both enter the bladder, this extra ureter is usually not a problem.…more

A biopsy involves taking a piece of skin or tissue from the body to look under a microscope. A doctor will see if the tissue contains cancer or other abnormal cells. The results of the biopsy can help determine the next best step in diagnosis or treatment.…more

Conn's syndrome is a rare health problem that occurs when the adrenal glands make too much aldosterone. This problem is also known as primary hyperaldosteronism. Aldosterone is a hormone that controls salt and potassium levels in the blood. Too much leads to high blood pressure.…more

Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is a rare problem caused when the adrenal gland(s) makes too much of a hormone called cortisol. CS is most often due to a tumor or mass found in the pituitary gland, but can also be caused by tumors in the adrenal glands themselves.…more

Most kidneys work well cleaning the blood from waste and keeping the body’s fluids and electrolytes in balance. A problem can occur during early kidney development in utero that results in an abnormal kidney (kidney dysplasia). Cysts, or fluid filled sacs, replace normal kidney tissue. As a result, kidney function can deteriorate before or after birth. Children with end stage kidney function will require blood-filtering treatment (kidney dialysis) until a kidney is available to be transplanted.…more

A kidney transplant is one of the most common organ transplant surgeries performed today. In this surgery, kidneys that aren't working well are replaced by a kidney from a donor. Kidney transplants have been performed since the 1950s. This surgery is a lifesaving choice for thousands of patients with end-stage kidney disease. If you have kidney failure and cannot have a transplant, dialysis can sustain life. Dialysis cleans the blood by removing waste products such as urea.…more

Pheochromocytoma is a tumor found in the adrenal medulla (the inner part of the adrenal gland). The adrenal medulla makes the hormones adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine). If a tumor forms in this area, it can cause too much of these hormones to be made. This can be very dangerous, as it causes very high blood pressure.…more

This is a diagnostic test for male patients with trauma (injury) to the urethra. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder and out the body. If there is a urethral stricture (a block or closing), urine cannot flow out.…more

An ultrasound exam (or “sonogram”) is a painless diagnostic technique that makes use of how sound waves travel through the body. When sound waves pass through the body, they bounce off tissues and organs in certain ways. The reflected waves can be used to make images of the organs inside. The sound waves don’t hurt the body, and there’s no radiation.…more

Urethral trauma is when the urethra is hurt by force. Trauma to the anterior urethra is often from straddle injuries. This can occur with a sharp blow to the perineum. This type of trauma can lead to scars in the urethra (“urethral stricture ”). These scars can slow or block the flow of urine from the penis. For females, urethral injuries are rare. They’re always linked to pelvic fractures or cuts, tears, or direct trauma to the body near the vagina.…more

Last Updated: 10/25/2017

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